House Democrats celebrate the passage of their 100-hour agenda

By Margaret Talev
McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - Democrats congratulated themselves Thursday as they led the House of Representatives to pass the last of their six priority bills well within a self-imposed deadline of the first 100 legislative hours.

"We have delivered on the promise," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "We have demonstrated that the Congress of the United States is not a place where good ideas and the optimism of the American people go to die."

The partisan celebration may be short-lived, however. For all the House Democrats' success in delivering on their campaign promise to win results in their first 100 hours in power, the achievement reveals little about whether they'll be able to push the federal government in a new direction.